


Shorthand

by LockBox22 (taleanaomi)



Series: Jame Deakins [3]
Category: Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Genre: Case Fic, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), New York City, Police Procedural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-27
Updated: 2010-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29191878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taleanaomi/pseuds/LockBox22
Summary: The murder of a cop turned reporter draws too much unwanted attention and Logan get a new partner. Set after 5.01, but before 5.02. Case file.
Series: Jame Deakins [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143281





	1. Chapter 1

The rhythmic thump of the ball he was bouncing against his desk was soothing to Mike Logan's ears. It was slow day at Major Case – well for him it was a slow day – and there wasn't much to do; he had done everything he could do work related already. 

He sensed someone's eyes on him and looked up to see one of his fellow detectives, Alexandra Eames looking at him over the file she was holding. She looked annoyed. Logan gave the ball another bounce. Eames put down her folder and got ready to speak. 

She was interrupted by the shout from the captain's office. “Logan! My office.” Police Captain James Deakins called from where he was standing in his office door. 

Logan dropped the ball into his desk drawer, then walked over to the captain. Deakins motioned him inside and shut the door behind Logan. He was surprised to see that another person was already in the room. 

A young woman was sitting on one of the chairs in front of Deakins’s desk. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was dressed informally in jeans and black leather jacket. She stood as Logan entered the room and he could see a badge and gun underneath the jacket. His first guess was undercover unit, her rank was unknown until Deakins spoke. 

“Mike Logan, meet Detective Jami Carter.” The Captain introduced them. 

Jami held out a hand and Logan took it. 

“Jami just transferred in from OCID.” Deakins told him. 

“That would explain the dress code.” Logan said motioning to Jami’s outfit. 

Jami raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, it is much more relaxed over there.” She said taking Logan’s comment in stride. 

“I’m assigning Jami as your temporary partner.” Deakins said ignoring their not so subtle sizing up of one another. “Take some time to get to know each other and if everything works out I assign you on a more permanent basis.” He told Logan pointedly.

Deakins’s desk phone rang, interrupting anything either of them could have said. “Dismissed.” He told them reaching for it. 

o0o

Logan closed the captain’s door behind them and then turned to his 'partner' only to find that she was already watching him closely. “What?” He asked. 

“You haven’t been here long, have you?” Jami asked. 

“What make you say that?” Logan replied as he led the way to his wobbly desk. 

“I don't know. You’re just not comfortable around Captain Deakins yet.” Jami said keeping up with his long legged stride easier then most woman he had worked with. For some reason, that annoyed him. 

“And I suppose you're lifelong friends, right?” Logan commented. 

“Defensive, cocky and not much of a conversationalist. I bet they have problems with you.” Jami retorted. 

Logan opened his mouth to tell her he didn’t like to be analyzed by his obviously very junior partner, but was interrupted by Goren. 

“Jami! Good to see you again!” The tall detective called from his desk as they walked past.

Jami stopped walking forcing Logan to do the same. “You too, Goren.” Jami replied giving the older detective a warm smile. 

“It’s been what, four years?” Eames asked from across the other desk. 

“Crazy, huh?” Jami agreed. “They've kept me busy.” 

“Yeah, I heard that you made detective.” Goren said, drawing her attention towards him once again. “Congratulations.” 

Jami smiled her thanks.

“The Kings bust do that for you?” Eames asked. 

“That and a few others.” Jami replied modestly. “We have a great team over there.” 

“Wait a minute; you brought down the Kings?” Logan asked. Even he had heard of the raid over on Staten Island. Everyone was calling it the bust of the century; or at least it was to NYPD’s Organized Crime Investigation Division – OCID for short.

“Well I'd like to say it was just me; but Goren and Eames deserve the bust.” Jami said. “Without Goren, I wouldn't be standing here.” Her tone had turned reflective and Logan knew that Jami reliving what had happened. 

Goren looked embarrassed. “I was only looking out for a fellow officer.” He said quietly. “I would have done the same for anyone.” 

“I know.” Jami replied looking straight at the detective for the first time. Logan saw something pass between them; respect. 

Clearly, his new partner had already established a good repertoire with the two most well known detectives in Major Case; something he still had to work for. Being tight with the captain had probably played a big part in it. It irked him. Logan didn’t like cops who pulled favours to make their way to the top. 

The moment was broken when Eames's desk phone rang. “Welcome to Major Case.” Eames said as she reached for her phone. “Hope you find it as exciting as OCID.” 

“I’m sure I will.” Jami replied. 

Ignoring the small talk behind him, Logan walked to his desk and threw himself into his chair; almost ignoring Jami completely. 

Undaunted by Logan’s behaviour, Jami followed him and pulled herself up onto his desk. It slide to one side and Logan grabbed his files so they wouldn’t fall to the floor. Who did this biker chick think she was anyways?

“Go ahead.” She said once the desk had been put back to rights. 

“What?” Logan asked confused as he leaned back in his chair. 

“You were going to say something before Goren interrupted.” She replied. 

She was observant, Logan would give her that. “Never mind.” He said sensing he was being backed into a corner. 

Jami didn't say anything; she just waited. Now he was super annoyed. “I don’t like to be analyzed by people, especially by my junior partner.” Logan retorted. “But, since we’re analyzing each other, I do have some first impressions of you as well.”

“I’m listening.” Jami replied, shifting to face him more directly.

“First, you mimic people. Their body language and the way they speak and move. You’re trying to fit in which means some insecurity. Second, you're very young and have already made detective. Someone has to be pulling favours for you and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who it is. Thirdly, I don’t take kindly to people who think they can be detectives just because the brass says they can. You have to earn that badge.” 

Jami looked slightly amused. A small smile was on her face. “I was wrong. You do talk.”

Logan didn’t think that comment deserved an answer. 

Jami continued. “You're right, I do mimic people. It’s saved my life once or twice in undercover work; it's habit.” Her voice lowered and the smile dropped off her face. “I may be young, but no one is pulling strings for me. I earned my rank and the badge that goes with it.” 

Jami slide off the desk and its uneven side banged back to the floor; drawing everyone’s attention towards the ‘new guys’ desk. 

They stared at Logan, wondering what in the world the new guy did to make the other detective so angry.   
o0o

The rest of the day at Major Case was slow and there was an uneasy silence between Logan and Jami. 

Deakins watched them periodically as they both sat at their own desks. Logan still had that wobbly desk and Jami sat at hers, which was a few feet away on the right side of Logan’s. 

Jami’s back was turned to her partner, which made interacting awkward. Though there wasn’t a lot of interacting going on between them. They both were reviewing files. Jami, the playbook for Major Case and Logan, a couple of the old cases. 

It was an odd arrangement; one that didn't make interaction between them any easier. Not that there was any interacting going on. Deakins would bet that they didn't speak one word the entire day. He would double down that there wasn't even a ‘good night’ as they both left for the evening. 

Deakins sighed as he pushed folders around on his desk. They needed a case. That might help them work out their differences. He hoped he'd made the right decision partnering them together.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan was the first to arrive the next morning. He checked his phone. No messages, but then again, he didn’t expect there to be any. Logan heard heels on the floor behind him and he turned around to see Jami dressed in a black suit with a green shirt. She looked good, professional. 

“What happened to the biker chick?” Logan asked half jokingly. 

“My undercover days are behind me. No need to keep dressing the part.” Jami said also checking her phone. “Besides, I thought we weren’t speaking.” 

She didn’t look at Logan when she said that, but he could hear what was implied in that statement. 

“Look, maybe I was a little hard on you yesterday.” Logan said lowering his voice so they wouldn’t be overheard. “Shall we call a truce?”

Jami turned around. “Agreed.” She said. 

“Do you want to shake on it or…?” Logan trailed off and motioned. 

“On the street, we spit on our hands.” Jami deadpanned and then burst out laughing at the look on Logan’s face. “You look so horrified. I’m only kidding.” She explained. 

Logan cracked a smile, the first one he had in days. 

“Glad to see you two getting along.” Deakins said from behind them. 

Jami and Logan turned around. 

“Your first case.” Deakins handed Logan a file. “Body down on Third and West.” 

o0o

“It looks like a jumper.” Detective Joe Keeting, the detective that had caught the case said to Logan as Jami looked over the body. 

“Well, it’s a long way down.” Logan said bending backwards to look up to the top of the building. It was a good twenty stories high. 

“Found a wallet.” Jami said from where she was bending beside the covered body. 

Logan looked down and frowned.

“Her name is Tracy Hagan,” Jami continued, before handing it up to Logan. “She’s a reporter at the Daily Times.” Jami looked up at Logan and watched his reaction. 

Logan's frown deepened as he looked at the ID. 

“That’s strange. Why would a jumper still be carrying a wallet?” Keeting asked in confusion.

“Wallet and a pen, and some scrap paper.” Jami emptied the woman’s jacket pockets. “Jumper’s don’t usually carry things with them.” 

“Unless they’re pushed.” Logan replied hearing the insinuation in Jami's voice. 

“Her hair's wet.” Jami said interrupting them. “How long has she been here?” 

“Not long. A couple hours.” Keeting replied. 

Jami sniffed the air. “Smells like roses.” She commented. “She took a shower recently.” 

Logan turned to Keeting. “We’ll need to take a look at her apartment.” 

o0o

“Well she certainly had a good income.” Jami said looking around the apartment. “This place isn’t shabby.” 

“It’s mess though.” Logan looked at the papers, folders and books scattered all around the room. They littered every possible surface. There was a small pile of clothes by the couch. 

“More of a mess then your apartment?” Jami teased. 

“Ha, ha.” Logan said flatly. Ever since they had started speaking again, he had discovered that Jami had an almost sarcastic personality. He took a look at the photos spread along a book shelf. One caught his attention and he picked it up. “Take a look at this.” He said turning to face Jami, holding the photo out. 

“She was a cop?” Jami asked looking at the photo. 

“How many cops do you know go into reporting?” Logan asked replacing the picture on the bookshelf. 

“Not many. Though it has been done before.” Jami replied going into the kitchen. “It's call investigative journalism for a reason you know.” She said over her shoulder.

“Yeah; I know.” Logan muttered as he checked out Hagan's computer. Amateur detective described over half of the reporters in this city. 

“She was planning to visit her sister next week.” Logan called flipping through her e-mail. “Nancy, she lives in Chicago.” 

“We'll need to contact her.” Jami said coming into the living room. “Nothing in the kitchen. No medications; not even a hint that she was depressed.” 

Jami wiggled the envelopes she held in her hand at Logan. “Bills still needed paying, and there are dirty dishes in the sink from this morning. How many jumpers have you known who leave everything like this?” She gestured around the messy room. 

“None.” Logan replied straightening up from where he had been leaning over the computer desk. “I think we have a murder on our hands.” 

o0o

Back at One Police Plaza, Jami and Logan were called into Deakins's office to get briefed on the situation. 

“The Chief of D wants something on this and soon.” Deakins said. “Since Hagan was one of ours, he wants everything done right. We also need to keep it on the down low. What’s your next step?”  
He asked. 

“We’re going to go the Daily News, the newspaper Tracy’s worked at.” Logan replied. 

“Watch out for Myers.” Deakins warned them as he sat down in his chair. “He doesn’t play nice.” 

“We'll be careful.” Jami promised.   
o0o

Gregory Myers, the editor of the Daily News, was on the phone when Logan and Jami walked into his office.

“Don’t you dare do anything without talking to me first!” He forcibly into the receiver as the receptionist closed the door behind the detectives. Myers listened to the other person for a second and then replied, “I don’t care what you think; you're not paid to think! I have to go, the police are here.” 

Myers hung up the phone and then turning towards Logan and Jami, held out his hand. “Sorry about that. Gregory Myers. I’m the editor here at the Daily News.” 

Myers looked quite young to be the manager at a newspaper. He looked fit and had a full head of blonde hair, making him look more like surfer then a newspaper editor. 

“Detective's Logan and Carter.” Logan said introducing them as he shook the editor’s hand. 

“Wow, you are a beauty.” Myers commented looking Jami over appreciatively as he took her hand. “What can I do for you?” He asked still looking at Jami. 

“We’re here about Tracy Hagan.” Logan answered, trying to draw Myers attention back to him. “She was one of your reporters?” He hinted. 

“Yes and no.” Myers replied finally turning to look at Logan. 

“Oh, here we go.” Logan muttered, rolling his eyes. 

“She wasn’t directly one of my reporters.” Myers clarified, turning back to Jami. “Everything goes through the units supervisors before me. I just edit the paper; I don’t keep track of all the reporters. Though, it’s terrible what happened to her. Suicides are always hard on the family.” Myers sounded genuinely sorry. 

Jami looked over at Logan and raised an eyebrow. 

“Well that was fast.” Logan muttered under his breath. 

“How did you hear about Tracy?” Jami asked. “Nothing’s been released to the public yet.” 

“News travels fast.” Myers said flashing a quick grin Jami’s way. “A reporter has to be quick to get the good stories.” 

“Suicide isn’t official yet.” Logan said. “We’re still investigating. Murder hasn’t been ruled out.” 

“Did Tracy have any enemies? Someone who might want to hurt her?” Jami asked. 

“No. I don’t think so.” Myers replied. “You think someone murdered her?” 

“Any hate mail or letters from people threatening to hurt her?” Jami continued ignoring the question. 

“Like I said, I wouldn’t know.” Myers answered with a shrug.

“We’re going to need to have a look at her desk.” Logan said. 

“This way.” Myer said motioning out of his office. 

o0o

“I’ll just get the key for her desk.” Myers said as they stopped at Tracy’s desk. “Be back in a sec.” 

“Is any information safe from them anymore?” Logan complained as soon as Myers had left them alone. 

“Apparently not.” Jami replied, sounding distracted. 

“What?” Logan asked picking up on her tone. 

“That woman, in the yellow blouse.” Jami said softly to Logan. 

“Yeah, what about her?” Logan asked. 

“She’s keeps looking at us. She wants to talk. She might know something about Tracy.” Jami said. Her eyes still fixed on the woman. 

Logan looked closely at the woman. Jami was right. Her body was tense and she was biting her lower lip as she glanced over her shoulder at the two detectives. 

“I see it.” He said gently touching Jami’s elbow as Myers came back. 

“Here’s the key. I’ll need to be here while you go through it.” Myers said. He held the key towards Jami, who refused to take it. Logan reached out and grabbed it instead. 

“Don’t worry. We’re not out to steal any your stories.” Logan retorted as he handed the key to Jami, who bent down and opened the desk drawers. 

“Mr. Myers? There’s a call for you on line two.” A woman said, calling to the editor from across the bullpen. 

“I'll get in my office!” Myers hollered back. “I’ll need receipts for anything you take away.” He told the two detectives as he walked away.

“There’s a lot of stuff here. Notes, old reports, research.” Jami said flipping through a pile of folders and free papers. She stood and placed a stack of papers on the desk. 

“It’ll take us a month to go through this.” Logan said riffling through another stack that was on the desk. 

“Which is what Myers wants.” Jami replied. 

“Excuse me.” A quiet voice said. 

Jami and Logan looked up. The woman with the yellow blouse stood in front of them. “I couldn’t help over hearing that you were talking about Tracy.” She said. 

“That’s right.” Jami said putting her files down. “Miss....?”

“Susan Elk.” She replied.

“How well did you know Tracy?” Logan asked. 

“Not very well.” Susan admitted. “We were working a story together and….” She stopped as Myers started to walk back towards them.

“I can’t talk here.” She whispered. 

“Here’s my card.” Jami said quickly handing one to her. “Call me whenever. Maybe we can meet later.” Susan took the card. Her hands shook. 

“I didn’t give you permission to talk to my employees.” Myers said as Susan left for her desk. 

“Look pal, we don’t need to….” Logan started threateningly. 

“We were just asking about Tracy’s files.” Jami interrupted. “Is it all here or do you have more?” 

“That’s all there is.” Myers answered. “She had a lot of stuff.” 

“And we’ll need to take all of it.” Jami said with a forced smile.

“I’ll get you a box.” Myers said. 

“Thank you.” Jami replied. 

“Anything for one of New York’s finest.” Myers said smiling again at Jami. 

o0o

“Yeesh. Could you believe that guy?” Logan asked as soon as they were outside the office. Logan was carrying the one of the two boxes that held everything that Tracy had in her desk; Jami carried the other one. 

“Completely unprofessional.” Jami muttered. “Not going to get a date.” She sounded disgusted. 

“Obviously, he's not your type. What is your type?” Logan asked as he set his box down on the roof of the car so he could open the truck. 

Jami looked sideways at him and smiled as he popped open the trunk. “Nice try, detective. But I’m not falling for that one.” 

“I bet I know.” Logan said as he shoved his box into the car and stuck the keys into his jacket pocket, stepping back so Jami could put hers in. “He’s tall, dark, handsome and carries a badge. Which I might point out, is more then half of the entire police force.” 

Jami shot him a look as she closed the trunk. “Don’t flatter yourself, Logan. What do you think Susan Elk was so scared about?” 

“I’ll bet it was Myers.” Logan replied. “I’m guessing next time we see him, it’ll be with a lawyer present.” 

“No kidding.” Jami said. “I hope Susan calls. What Tracy was working on could have been why she was murdered.”

Logan nodded in agreement and then bumped into Jami as both of them started for the driver's door at the same time. Both detective's looked at each other. 

“You drove here.” Jami pointed out. 

“I always drive.” Logan replied. 

“Not anymore.” Jami shot back. “It's my turn.”

She started forward, but Logan stopped her by placing a hand on the side of the car. Jami bumped into him again. She stepped back, annoyed. 

“Tell you what, we'll take turns.” Logan suggested. “Today is my day to drive. You can drive tomorrow.” 

Jami backed away and motioned for Logan to continue to the driver's side. Logan stopped by the door and started to reach into his pocket for the keys he had placed there earlier. He frowned. 

“Of course, it is a little hard to drive without the keys.” Jami said from where she stood behind him. 

Logan turned around. Jami was dangling the keys from one finger. 

Logan automatically checked his other pockets; the keys were gone. Quickly, he realized what had happened. Jami had purposely bumped against him the second time so she could pick-pocket the car keys. 

Jami smiled. 

Logan smiled and shook his head. She was good; he had to give her that. “Isn't there a law against pick-pocketing?” He asked crossing his arms. 

“Not when the pick-picketer is police officer.” Jami replied walking towards him and the driver's side door.


	3. Chapter 3

With no new leads, Logan and Jami took the rest of the afternoon to go through the paperwork. It wasn’t going well. 

“Nothing about a big story or any notes from the past few months.” Logan commented. “Someone had too have gotten her desk before us.” 

“Or she just doesn't keep the important stuff at the office.” Jami replied not looking up from her file. She was currently reading Tracy Hagan's NYPD employment record. 

She leaned forward. “It's says here that Tracy started in Patrol, as per usual, she stayed there for a while. Then she worked financial crimes. Six months after that, she quit.”

“Couldn’t handle it?” Logan guessed. 

Jami shook her head. “No, it was for personal reasons. But get this, no family except for her sister who is Chicago. She was good at her job and was making good money.” She looked up at Logan. “Who would quit with all that?” 

“Maybe she needed a break.” Logan suggested. “Lots of good cops get burned out. This isn't exactly a nice, cushy job micro-managing underpaid employees.” He pointed out. 

“It could have been burn-out.” Jami said putting the file down. “But I don't think so.” She stretched. They had both taken off their suit jackets a while ago and Logan had rolled up his sleeves. Jami’s deep green, tank-top was slightly distracting; as was the manner in which she was stretching. 

“You’re staring.” Jami said jerking Logan out of his musings.

“Sorry.” He said turning back to his papers. 

“We're missing something.” Jami said thinking out loud. She lapsed into silence and they sat there for a few minutes. Jami glanced at the evidence spread out on the table in front of them. Files, folders, papers, notes, notebooks and the evidence box containing everything of interest from Tracy's apartment and everything she had on her when she had quote- unquote jumped.

Suddenly, Jami snapped her fingers. “Hang on a minute.” She said starting to dig through the evidence pile. 

“We’ve already gone through that. Twice.” Logan reminded her, putting down his folder. He was curious and a little cautious. What was she thinking? 

“Just hang with me.” Jami said slipping back in street talk for a moment as she took Tracy’s wallet out of the evidence bag. She flipped through it once, noting the cards, feeling the lining, and then ripped the wallet apart. 

“Be careful with that!” Logan told her. “It’s evidence!” 

“Got ya.” Jami said excitedly as she pulled out a folded piece of paper from within the lining of the wallet. “Her source's name and phone number.” Triumphantly, she held up the paper between two fingers. 

“How did you…?” Logan asked in amazement. 

“Saw it once when I was undercover.” Jami said opening the paper and then pulling her laptop toward her. “Evan Collins.” She said as she typed the name into the search engine. A NYPD file popped up. 

“Her contact is a cop.” Jami said in surprise. 

“No way.” Logan said coming around the table to lean on the back of Jami's chair. 

“Way.” Jami replied. “She and Collins worked together in the financial division.” Jami looked up at Logan. “If they’re old pals, this could be where she was getting her information for whatever case she working on.”

“Then that's where we're going.” Logan said looking at the photo of Collins in uniform. 

Jami checked her watch and then stood. “It's just after four. If we hurry we make it there before rush hour traffic.”   
o0o

“Why do you want to talk to my officer?” The Detective in charge of the Financial Crimes Division asked as he lead the way to Collins’s desk. Financial Crimes was crammed into a way smaller office then it needed and the detectives found themselves having to shimmy past the stacks of boxes that littered the floor. 

“We just have some questions about Officer Tracy Hagan.” Jami said as she pressed against the wall to let two officers past. “She worked for you about eight months ago?” 

“Hagan..... yeah; I remember her.” The detective said looking back at them as he scooted past a stack of folders. “Good cop Hagan. She quit; personal reasons if I remember correctly.” 

“Did she ever say what those reasons were?” Logan asked narrowly avoiding knocking a pile of files to the floor. He caught them quickly and righted the stack. 

The detective shook his head. “Nah. I didn’t ask. Sorry about the all the boxes by the way. We're moving into a bigger office later this week and things are kind of a mess.” They had finally reached the desks and the detective in charge yelled at one of the officers who was seated at the desk. “Collins! These detectives want to talk to you!”

Collins turned around in his chair to face them. 

“Detective Carter.” Jami introduced herself. She hooked a thumb behind her. “Detective Logan.”

“I'll leave you to it.” The detective in charge said. He motioned. “Call if you need anything.” 

“Thanks.” Logan said as the older man made his way back through the tall stacks of boxes. 

Collins cleared his throat. “What can I do for you, detectives?” He asked. 

“Sorry to just walk in on you like this, but we have some questions about Tracy Hagan.” Logan said, finally finding a stable beam to lean against. 

“I heard what happened.” Collins said interrupting Logan. “I don't believe that she would commit suicide.” 

“We don't believe that it was suicide either.” Jami said causing Collins to look at her. 

“Murder?” Collins asked in surprise. 

“You two worked together, right?” Logan asked, changing to tone of the questioning back to what they wanted to know. 

“For a few months, yes.” Collins said. “She quit soon after I joined. Are you sure it was murder?” 

“We're still trying to determine that. Have you talked to Tracy recently?” Jami asked trying to keep the younger man on track. 

“Yeah, right before she quit.” Collins replied. “We didn't really keep in contact.” He admitted. 

“Are you sure you want that to be your answer, pal?” Logan asked. 

Collins looked slightly confused. 

“You see, we found your phone number in her wallet.” Logan said. “We also matched her phone records. She called you every week since she quit.”

Collins's face dropped slightly. He knew he was caught. 

“Would you care to revise your statement?” Jami asked bending her head slightly to look Collins in the eye. Collins was just out of the Academy so hopefully the presence of a senior office might get him to spill quickly. Even thought he wasn't much older then Jami was. 

“Tracy was working on a case before she left.” Collins said finally. “It had to do with a big financial company skimming money from it customers. But there was something fishy about it.”

“What do you mean?” Logan asked. 

Collins looked up at Logan. “The money that they skim just disappears. We couldn't find any trace of it. Since there wasn't any evidence the case was dropped.” 

“Did Tracy continue to work on the case after she quit?” Jami asked. 

Collins nodded. “She called me to get access to the records. I know I shouldn’t have done it,” He confessed. “But this company is stealing from people to fiance something illegal; wither the evidence says so or not.”   
o0o

“So what did you think?” Logan asked as they came out of the Financial Crimes office. 

“Collins may be guilty of sharing information, but he’s telling the truth.” Jami said. “We need to go through the files on that case.” 

Logan nodded. “I'll get someone to come down here and collect them.” He said. 

Jami nodded in agreement as her phone beeped at her. She pulled it from her jacket's pocket and worked the screen as they walked to the car. 

Logan gently grabbed her arm before she could walk into the crowd of people. Jami looked up at his touch and moved aside to let the men and woman pass. 

“It’s a text message from Susan Elk.” Jami said as they reached the car. “She wants us to meet her. Green-view café.” Jami pulled open her car door. 

o0o

Twenty minutes later, Logan and Jami sat at a table in the Green-view café with the reporter, Susan Elk.

Coffee sat at the detective's elbows and Susan stirred her tea uneasily. 

“What couldn’t you tell us yesterday?” Jami asked. “Was it something about Tracy’s new story?”

“I think it had to do with it. One day Tracy said something about thinking someone had followed her home. She said it might have something to do with the story we were working on.” Susan said. “But I'm not sure.” 

“Followed on foot?” Jami asked. 

Susan shook her head. “No. She said it was a car.” 

“What kind of car?” Logan asked. “SUV? A van maybe?” 

Susan looked around nervously. “She said it was dark colored car; maybe a four door sedan.”

“Was this the only time she saw the car?” Jami asked. 

Susan shook her head. “No. She mentioned it once or twice.....I can't remember.” 

“Tracy must have been a good reporter and friend.” Jamie said. “I bet she kept her secrets close. Do you know where Tracy might keep her notes? We couldn't find them at the office.” 

Susan smiled. “Tracy never kept the important stuff at the office. She's paranoid like that.” Susan's smiled turned sad. “Was. I mean was paranoid.” 

Susan grabbed a napkin and wiped tears from her eyes, careful not to mess up her makeup. “Im sorry. You could try the locker at her gym.” Susan said once she had gotten herself under control. “She might have kept some stuff there.”

“Do you know exactly what she was working on?” Jami asked. “We've talked to some people and they can't seem to tell us much.” 

“I’ve told you all I can.” Susan said starting to stand. “Don't ask me for anything more.” 

“Look, Susan, whoever it is that you’re afraid of we can give you protection.” Jami said standing as well to prevent Susan from leaving. 

Susan didn’t answer. Logan was temped to jump in, but he sensed Jami had had it under control.

“We need to know what she was working on.” Jami said. “We think it was why she was murdered.” 

Susan turned white and looked away from them. 

Jami noticed her reaction. “You know who did it, don’t you?” She asked gently.

Susan sat back down. “I think so, yes.” She said clutching her purse in her lap. 

Jami sat back down as well and waited. 

Susan took a deep breath. “We were working on a story about a financial company, Greenvalley Financial. Some people said that something wasn’t right about it. There were rumours about money disappearing from customer’s accounts. Tracy thought the company was skimming money from them. Then later, she said she was onto something big and that she didn’t want me involved if something went wrong.”

“Do you what she was on to?” Logan asked. 

“No. She told me to stop investigating and then shut me out when I tried to help.” Susan dug into her bag and pulled out a manilla envelope. “Here’s all my notes.” She said handing it to Jami. “I don't want to be involved anymore. I have to get back to work.” Susan stood and throwing some bills onto the table, left the cafe.

Jami handed the envelope to Logan. “Put that into your jacket's inner pocket.” She told him. 

Logan frowned, but did as she asked. 

“And don't let it out of your sight.” Jami cautioned him. 

“Jami, it's just notes.” Logan reminded her, smiling at her paranoia. “Not national secrets from the Pentagon.” 

“I know.” Jami replied as she stood and tossed some bills on the table to cover her coffee.   
“Something just doesn't feel right about this case.” 

Her tone was reflective and Logan was temped to ask what made her think that. But he shook himself; Jami was just used to the paranoia of undercover work. “Come on, let's call it a day. It's too late to check out that gym locker tonight.” He told her.


	4. Chapter 4

It was early the next morning when Logan and Jami regrouped at the office. The blinking red light on both their phones was the same message; Rodger's had finished Tracy's autopsy. They made a quick trip to the Morgue which didn't tell them anything they didn't already know. Tracy was healthy until she had done a swan dive off her balcony. There was no marks or bruises on her back or arms that spoke of foul play. It looked like a suicide. 

Disappointed by their findings, Logan and Jami made their way to Tracy's gym. The gym in question was actually a yoga studio. Logan held the door for Jami as they entered the studio. A class was in session and Logan and Jami stood to the side and waited for someone to notice them. 

It wasn't long; the instructor, a tall, blonde haired woman, quickly noticed them obviously looking out of place and drew the class to a close. The blonde instructor made her way over to them. “Can I help you, officers?” She asked with a friendly smile. 

Jami raised an eyebrow at Logan who shrugged in return. He held out his badge. “Detective actually. Logan; this is Detective Carter.” 

Jami smiled at the woman. “How'd you know you know we were cops?” She asked. 

“My husband is on the force.” The woman replied with a polite smile. “George Burnett.” She said introducing herself. She motioned around. “I own this studio. So, what can I do for you?” George asked. 

“We'd like to take a look inside Tracy Hagan's locker.” Logan replied.

“You have a warrant?” George asked. 

“No, but....” Logan was interrupted by George before he could finish. 

“Then I'm sorry.” She replied. “You either have Tracy's permission or a warrant.” 

“Tracy Hagan was murdered yesterday.” Jami said butting in. 

George turned toward Jami with a look of shock on her face. “Oh, god.” Her face had turned white and she sat down heavily on the bench that ran along the wall. “Yesterday. I just saw her that morning.” She said looking up at the two detectives. 

“What time was that?” Logan asked pulling out his notebook. 

“Uh, 8:00.” George replied. “She came in for a training session. Kevin, my husband, teaches self defence classes.” She explained. “Sometimes a few cops come too, just to get in some extra training time. Tracy liked training with Kevin because then they both knew what they were doing. I can't believe it she was murdered.” 

Jami exchanged a look with Logan. George and Kevin might have been the last person to see Tracy alive. 

“We need to take a look in her locker, George.” Jami said gently. “But first we're going to need you to give us a statement.” 

George nodded and then took a deep breath. “Sure whatever you need.” 

o0o 

“Nothing.” Logan said in disgust, stepping back from the bench as if distance would enable him to see something that wasn't there. They had completely pulled everything out of Tracy's locker, which wasn't much, and had spread it on the bench. 

The locker had held nothing, but a couple towels, hand wraps and a extra pair of sneakers. Jami was now digging around inside the locker, probing it for any false panels. The locker was quiet deep; Jami's arm was in the shoulder and she still couldn't reach the back. 

Annoyed, she pulled back. “I can't reach. Can you...” She motioned to the locker. 

“Sure.” Logan replied. He reached his gloved hand into the locker and banged on the back and sides. Nothing gave. 

“We're missing something.” Jami said reflectively as she glanced at the contents of the locker lying the bench. 

“Again?” Logan asked over his shoulder. 

“We're always missing something until we find it.” Jami retorted. “That's why it's called a clue?” She said pointedly. 

Logan shot her an annoyed glance. “Let's talk it through.” He suggested. “Tracy finishes her training session with Kevin, takes a shower and then drives home.” 

Jami nodded. “That works. Her hair was still wet when we found her which means that she got in the door and then was pushed.”

“Or persuaded to jump.” Logan suggested a frown creasing his face as he reached further back in the locker. 

“She was pushed.” Jami said firmly. “The perp was waiting in her apartment for her to get back. No signs of a struggle, so they came there to kill her.” 

Logan pulled his arm out of the locker. “Nothing, but dust.” He said clapping his hands together to get rid of the dust. 

Jami was looking over the contents of the locker. “Where's the gym bag?” She asked suddenly looking up at Logan. “There's no soap, shampoo or even dirty clothes here. We know from George that she took a shower, so where's the gym bag?”

“People usually drop it by the front door.” Logan said slowly. 

“We would have found it as soon as we walked into her apartment.” Jami replied. “Who checked out her car?”   
o0o

The NYPD impound lot was busy as usual. It seemed that every New Yorker had their car impounded at one point or another and today was no exception. Every kind of vehicle from a few Porsche to old Honda's littered the lot. 

Logan quickly spotted Tracy's car and Jami took the keys out of the evidence bag and opened the driver's door. She popped the trunk for Logan and then knelt on the seat, opening the glove box. “Nothing.” She called back to Logan. 

“I found it.” Logan called from the back of the car. 

Jami pulled herself out of front seat and came around to the trunk. Logan held the gym bag with one gloved hand. “Empty.” He said. 

Jami took the bag and looked inside. Logan was right; nothing. “Damn.” Jami swore dropping the bag. “I thought we had it.” 

“Maybe we do.” Logan said. “We know that Tracy was using the gym bag to carry her work, but to who? Who could she trust?” 

“Collins.” Jami replied. She snapped her fingers as a thought occurred to her. “George said that cops like to some to self defence classes to get in some extra training time.” She smiled. “Wanna bet that Collins is one of those cops?”   
o0o

Evan Collins lived in an apartment building right smack in the middle of downtown. As it was his day off, both of them expected him to be home. They walked up the stairs and went right towards the small apartment. Logan followed Jami; they agreed that she would take the lead since Collins seemed to respond to her earlier at the office. 

Logan watched as Jami's hand settled itself around her firearm. Suddenly, feeling a little uneasy himself, Logan also gripped his weapon. Jami raised her hand to knock on the door, but stepped back as it swung open under her fist.

Collins looked surprised to see them, but carried no weapon. Logan relaxed slightly; Jami however did not. 

“Detectives.” Collins greeted them. He was barefoot, dressed in jeans and a dark blue NYPD t-shirt. In his right hand he held a very full garbage bag. 

Logan nodded to the bag. “Garbage day?” He asked. 

“Yeah.” Collins replied looking back over his shoulder into the apartment and then back to the detectives. “Can I help you with something?” He asked closing the door slightly.

“You lied to me, Evan.” Jami told him.

Collins looked confused. “Excuse me?” He asked with a frown. 

“Don't play coy with us.” Logan warned Collins. 

“You forgot to mention that Tracy Hagan gave you all her case notes, just in case something happened to her.” Jami continued. “In case you haven't noticed something has happened to her, Evan.” 

Collins didn't deny it and looked down right sick at the mention of Tracy's murder. 

“We're going to need those notes.” Jami ordered. 

Collins nodded and opened the door, leading the detectives into his apartment. Logan closed the door behind them. 

The files were all on the kitchen table. Logan lifted up a couple folders and saw that they were case files from the Financial Crimes Unit. He raised his eyebrow; the kid had been working the case using Tracy's notes and stolen files from his own office. 

“Those are all Tracy's notes” Collins told them. “You're right. Tracy knew that someone was following her and she gave me the notes yesterday, just in case.” 

“At the gym right?” Logan guessed. 

Collins didn't look surprised. “Yeah. She said they might be safer with me until the whole thing cooled down. I've been trying to work the case in my off hours. It hasn't been going too well.” He admitted. 

“Are these all of the notes?” Jami asked. “You didn't make copies or anything?” 

Collins shook his head. “This is it.” He confirmed. 

Jami glanced over the pile of three or four notebooks. There wasn't a whole lot there. 

“Is this really what Tracy was killed over?” Collins asked. He motioned to the books. “There's not a whole lot murdering someone over in there. As far as I can tell, all it shows is that money is disappearing from accounts. It's not murder worthy.” 

“We don't know yet.” Logan replied. “It's a lead.” 

“The only lead we have.” Jami confirmed. “We're going to need to take all of this.” 

Collins nodded slowly. “Take it.” He told them. “Maybe you can make more sense of it then I've been able too.” 

Logan nodded his thanks. “We're going to have to take these files as well.” He motioned to the pile of NYPD folders. “I'm assuming they weren't checked out?” 

“I'm taking them back.” Collins told him firmly. “If they want to demote me for doing what I thought was right then so be it.” 

Jami looked at the young man. “Tell you what. You swear to me that you'll keep off this case and I won't tell your boss about the 'borrowed' files. Deal?” 

Collins thought for a moment and then nodded. “Alright.” 

o0o

“What was that all about?” Logan asked as soon as they were out of the apartment building. 

“What was what about?” Jami asked leading the way to the car. 

“The deal you made with Collins.” Logan replied. “We have to tell his boss about the files. They're going to ask where we found them.” 

“Then we tell them the truth, we found them with Tracy's notes.” Jami replied, popping the trunk with the key fob. She opened it for Logan who put the box of folders into the trunk. 

“There's just something about this that doesn't sit right with me.” She continued. “I want Collins off the case.” Jami slammed the trunk shut. 

“And you didn't think to discuss it with me first?” Logan asked as they started towards the front of the car. 

“I make a judgement call.” Jami replied. She tossed the keys to Logan. “Here, you can drive back.” 

Logan caught the keys easily and raised an eyebrow. “Bribery, Detective Carter?” He asked.

“Better then blackmail.” Jami quipped before getting into the passenger side. 

o0o

“It looks like Tracy Hagan might have gotten in over her head.” Deakins said putting down the one of the files they had gotten from Susan. They were in the conference room with all the evidence from the case spread out around them and Logan and Jami had just finished briefing Deakins. 

“No kidding.” Jami replied. “I think we should send a car by the check on Susan and Officer Evan Collins.” 

“You think something might happen to them?” Deakins asked. 

“It’s a possibility,” Logan replied. “Considering they are part of the investigation going after one of the biggest financial firms in the state; Greenvalley Financial.” He tapped the name on the file. 

“Alright. I put a car on Susan Elks's house and send a uniform to Officer Collins's apartment.” Deakins told them. Someone in the bullpen waved for his attention. “Keep up the good work.” He congratulated them before leaving the conference room. 

“We should probably check out this… Greenvalley Financial.” Logan said looking at the file. 

“They won’t like us poking around.” Jami warned. “There will be lawyers everywhere. We need something before we can just go in and ask questions. Here.” 

Jami handed Logan a sheet of paper. “Tracy and Susan made a list of everyone that says they were robbed. Maybe we should talk to a few of them first.” She suggested. 

“These are all rich men and woman.” Logan noticed as he skimmed the list. 

“Greenvalley Financial caters to the rich and famous.” Jami explained. “They're a private banking firm.” 

“Wonderful,” Logan muttered sarcastically. “More lawyers.” 

o0o

“I’m glad the police are finally starting to take this seriously.” The man said as Logan showed him into the conference room. Thomas Sheridan was an elderly man, the first on the list they had gotten from Susan. 

“Have a seat, Mr. Sheridan.” Logan said as he and Jami sat on the other side of the table. 

“Why don’t you tell us what happened?” Jami asked. 

“I’ll tell you what happened, young lady. Half of my money, gone just like that.” Sheridan said snapping his fingers. 

Logan looked at Jami, containing the urge to laugh. 

“When did you notice it was missing?” Jami asked.

“About a year after I deposited it.” Sheridan said. “I went to take some money out for our anniversary and noticed that over five thousand dollars was missing.” 

“Did you report it?” Logan asked. 

“Of course I did!” Sheridan said. “I may be old, but I’m not stupid. The company said they’ll look into it. They said something about a banking error and then suggested I made a mistake. I thought about suing just for that comment, but my lawyer said it would be a waste of time.” 

They asked Sheridan a couple more questions and received even longer answers. Finally, there were finished. 

“Thanks you for coming in.” Jami said closing her notebook. “We’ll be in touch. This officer will show you out.” 

“Twelve different people and all have to same story.” Logan said once Sheridan had gone. “Deposited money and when they went to check on it, gone.”

“They’re not targeting anyone person or company.” Jami said. “It seems to be sporadic and uncontrolled. An outsider could be hacking into their database.” She suggested. 

“Then the company would have reported it.” Logan said. “High-end banks relay on heavily guarded systems.” 

“So we’re back to it being the bank itself.” Jami said. 

“Maybe it’s time to visit the manager.” Logan said. 

“Maybe.” Jami agreed. Something banged behind them. Jami spun around in her seat, one hand going for her gun.

One of the detectives had dropped a heavy, hardcover book along with a couple folders. A couple people stopped to help him pick the papers up. Jami watched them for a second and then left go of her sidearm. 

Logan watched Jami carefully. 

“You ok?” He asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jami said picking up her jacket. “Let’s go talk to the manager.”


	5. Chapter 5

The receptionist showed Logan and Jami into the bank manager’s office. He hung up the phone as he saw them. Clay Forester was an older man with black hair going grey and a good figure for someone in his late fifties. 

“Come in. Please, sit down.” Forester said pleasantly motioning to the chairs in front of his desk.   
“What can I do for the NYPD today?” 

“We just have some questions about your bank.” Logan said as they sat on the chairs. “How long have you been in business here? I noticed that the paint still smells.” 

“In this offices, only a year.” Forester replied. “But the company has been in business for almost twenty years.”

“Twenty years, that’s a long time. I imagine you have lots of satisfied customers.” Jami commented. 

“We try our best to give satisfactory service to everyone who banks with us.” Forester answered. His tone was starting to sound slightly annoyed. 

“That’s strange because we were just talking with a few of your customers and they said something completely different.” Logan said. 

“There will always be a few people that you can’t please all the time.” Forester said. “I assume as police offices you come across people like that everyday.” 

“Yes, but twelve people? All with the same complaint? You have to think something’s going on.” Logan said. 

“I’m a very busy man.” Forester said ignoring Logan’s question. “Is there something else or did you just come here to talk about dissatisfied customers?” 

“Just one more thing.” Jami said. “Do you know Tracy Hagan?” 

“That police officer that was murdered? No, I didn’t. Expect if reading about her in the paper counts.” Forester said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting in ten minutes. Cindy will show you out.”  
o0o

“Now that was a waste of time.” Jami said once they were on the street. 

“Not quite.” Logan said. “He said ‘the police officer that was murdered.’ The paper said it was a suicide. Now how could he know that it was murder?”

“He could just be an intelligent guesser.” Jami mumbled sourly. 

They passed the ally that lead behind the bank. There was a security camera outside the side door. It was stationary as they walked past it. Frowning, Jami stopped walking and backed up walking past the camera for the second time and then she walked forward; the entire time looking at the camera. 

Logan stood a few feet away watching her. “What are you doing?” He asked sounding amused. 

“The camera, it doesn’t move.” Jami replied sounding distracted. 

Logan gave her a blank look. 

“In the bank, they had cameras with motion sensors.” Jami explained walking into the ally. 

Logan followed her. “They could be using a different camera out here.” He said. 

“No, it’s the same one.” Jami said looking behind the dumpster that was on the left side of the door. “Aha.” She exclaimed, finding what she was looking for, an old milk carton. She stacked it on top of some boxes that where lying around. 

Jami stepped on her makeshift ladder and it wobbled. Quickly, Logan grabbed her by the waist, so she wouldn’t fall. Jami grabbed onto his shoulder to steady herself. 

“Thanks.” Jami said, but made no move to get down. Instead, she reached behind the camera with one hand and dig around with her fingers. 

Awkwardly, Logan kept his hold on her waist. Surprisingly, no one stopped and stared. After all, this was New York. He looked up and watched as Jami bit her lip, reaching further behind the camera. 

Jami shifted her weight to one side and as unsteady as the pile was, the milk carton tipped over. Thinking fast, Logan pulled Jami backwards so she fell into his arms. 

The boxes tipped over, spilling into the ally and Jami landed safely in his arms. She was lighter then he thought and Logan easily held her weight. He looked down at her. It was bad idea. 

“Thanks.” Jami breathed, her hand releasing the death grip she had on the shoulder of Logan's jacket. 

“No problem.” Logan replied. He set Jami on her feet and there was a awkward moment of silence. 

“The wires are still intact.” Jami said finally as she dusted off her hands. “But the power's off.” 

“On the side door of a bank? There’s only one reason for that.” Logan replied. “I noticed something else as well. Take a look at this gate.” He said walking over to the chain link gate that lead to the back door of the bank. He yanked on the gate and moved. “This padlock's been cut.”

“Weird.” Jami replied. 

“Excuse me!” They looked up as they saw a security guard coming toward them. “You’re going to have to leave now. You are trespassing on Greenvalley property.” 

“We’ll leave.” Jami assured him. 

“By the way, you’re going to need a new padlock.” Logan said as they passed the guard. 

“We’ll get right on it, sir.” The guard said in a tone that made it clear that they wouldn’t. As they walked away, the guard glanced up at the camera that didn't work. 

o0o

“I agree that the manager was definitely hiding something.” Jami asked as she and Logan drove back to One Police Plaza. “But I'm not convinced that he had anything to do with Tracy's death.” She waved her hand to cut off Logan's protest. “Nothing you can say is going to make me change my mind.” 

They had been having this argument for the last ten minutes and either nobody was winning or the other thought they were winning. 

“Everyone at the bank smells.” Logan replied. “Something is definitely going on there and I'll bet it has to do with the story Tracy was working on. That's my theory and I'm sticking too it.” 

“Everyone has skeletons in their closets.” Jami retorted. “For all we know it could be a red herring; misdirection.”

Logan couldn’t resist a grin at her choice of language.

“What?” Jami asked noticing. 

“Red herring. It sounded like it came right out of a Sherlock Holmes novel.” Logan explained.

“Haha; very funny; don’t forget to change lanes here, Dr. Watson.” Jami replied sarcastically, motioning. 

“I got it.” Logan said smoothly starting to manoeuvre into the next lane. He was still grinning. 

A black four door sedan with tinted windows slipped into the lane right in front of Logan, cutting him off and clipping the front of their car. 

“Hey, watch it!” Logan exclaimed as he slammed on the brakes even though the driver of the other car couldn't hear him. He just narrowly avoided a collision. 

Logan released the death grip he had taken on the steering wheel and breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close.” He said looking over at Jami. 

“Maniac.” Jami muttered. 

“Write his plate down.” Logan told her. “Traffic can deal with it later.” 

Jami reached for the pen and paper in the glove box. 

“Plate number is.... Victor, Oscar, Zulu, 1, 9, 0.” Logan read the number out and Jami jotted it down. 

“Probably one of the members of the upper crust society.” Logan continued. “A ticket means nothing to them and they're be back on the street doing exactly the same thing the next day.” He glanced over at Jami, but she was wasn't looking at him; she was frowning at the car in front of them. 

“What is it?” Logan asked looking at the black sedan. 

Jami shook her head. “Nothing.” She tore off the page and stuck it into her jacket's pocket. “It's just weird that it's black sedan.” She looked at him. “The same kind of car Susan said Tracy thought was following her.” 

Logan frowned, but didn't get any further as the light turned green and he turned the corner. Suddenly, they both jerked forward as a car rammed them from behind. 

“What the hell?” Logan asked looking in his rear-view mirror. 

Jami glanced back. “It's another black sedan.” She said turning back to Logan. “Weird enough for you?” 

Logan didn't answer as the sedan behind them rammed them again, clipping the edge of their bumper and sending them into a spin. 

“Mike!” Jami yelled. 

“Hang on!” Logan yelled. 

Horns blared as the detective's car skidded into the next lane, against traffic. Driver's slammed on their brakes, narrowly missing the car. A taxi cab clipped them car, sending it spinning to the next lane over where a BMW crashed into it, flipping the car over and over until a light pole forced the police issue car to stop right side up. 

Chaos correctly described the scene. Three lanes of traffic were in a terrible mess. In the distance siren's screamed.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing that she noticed was the pain in her head. She opened her eyes and winced at the bright light shining on her face. Jami's first coherent thought was for Logan and she swung her head towards the driver's side. She winced as the pain intensified. 

She touched her forehead and her fingertips came away bloody. She must have hit her head harder then she first thought. There was glass all over her and she belatedly noticed that her window and the windshield were broken.

EMS was already on the scene as was a couple cop cars. Somewhere water could be heard being dumped on a burning car. Jami looked around, noting the surroundings. The street was in chaos. She jumped as a paramedic appeared next to her shattered window. 

“Ma'am?” He asked. “Ma'am, are you alright?” 

“Yeah.” Jami managed to say. She dug around in her pocket and eventually came up with her badge. She showed it to the man. “Police. Detective Carter.” She winced again; her head really hurt.

“We're going to get you out of here, Detective.” The paramedic reassured her. “Just hang on and try not to move.”

He kept talking but Jami turned the man out and -slower this time- looked over at Logan. The driver’s side was in worse shape then the passenger side. The driver's side had been the one to hit the pole, putting a curve in the otherwise straight side. The window had also shattered, dumping glass all over Logan. 

Logan’s head was mashed up against the broken window. She guessed he had just been knocked out by the crash. His wrist had also been trapped between the steering wheel and the door where the pole had bent the car. In essence, he was trapped. 

Scared for her partner, Jami unbuckled her seat belt, cutting her hands on the glass that littered the car. She steadied herself against the dash and leaned over to Logan, her other hand grabbing the shoulder of the driver's seat to steady herself. Her ribs shifted and protested at the movement. 

“Detective, you really need to stay in your seat.” The paramedic warned her. “We'll get you out of here as soon as we can. Detective?” 

Jami ignored him and felt for Logan's pulse. It was strong, he had just been knocked out. In the background, Jami could hear the paramedic calling for the firemen to come and pry the car door open. 

“Mike. Come on. Time to wake up.” Jami said cupping one side of Logan’s face in her hand and turned his head towards her. Logan moaned and his eyes fluttered open. 

“Mike. Come on, wake up.” Jami repeated wincing as her headache shot up a notch in intensity. Glass dug into the knees of her thin pants and the cuts on her hands left little patches of blood on the seat's shoulder and the side of Logan's face. 

Logan’s eyes snapped open and there was a moment of sheer panic in his brown eyes. He grabbed Jami's wrist with a death grip. He relaxed as soon he saw who she was. 

“Don’t move.” Jami told him. “There’s glass all over you and I think you have a concussion.” 

“What about you? You aren’t looking too good.” Logan said his eyes going to Jami’s head which was still bleeding. 

‘I’m not the one trapped behind the steering wheel.” Jami retorted as she shifted into a more comfortable position. She winced again and pressed a hand to her ribs. 

Logan looked down at his wrist and winced in pain as he tried to move it. “Ouch.” He said simply leaning back against the headrest. 

Both of them looked towards the passenger side as the door was wrenched off it's sockets. A fireman leaned down to look inside the car. “How you doing?” He asked directing his question to Jami. 

“Been better.” Logan replied. 

The fireman chuckled. “I can imagine. Can you get out of the vehicle?”

“My wrist is stuck.” Logan said. He looked towards Jami. “Get her out of here.” 

“Where is your wrist stuck?” The fireman asked leaning into the car. Logan explained it to him and the man nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Ok. Here's what we'll do.” The fireman said. “We'll get someone in here to dismantle the steering wheel and then get you out. Ma'am, you're going to have to come with me while we get your boyfriend out.” 

“He's not my boyfriend.” Jami said at the same time Logan said, “I'm not her boyfriend.” 

The fireman looked at them. “We're police officers.” Jami explained as she started to climb into the passenger side. Her ribs hurt and she was now having a hard time breathing. Behind her, Logan frowned at the hitch in her breathing.

“My mistake, Detective.” The fireman said helping Jami out of the car. “It is detective?” 

Jami started to nod and then thought better of it. “Yeah.” She replied breathlessly. 

“Don't worry.” The fireman told her as a paramedic took Jami by the arm. “We'll take good care of your partner.”

Jami stumbled and the paramedic wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her ribs. Jami gasped as fire shot along her side. Her breathing hitched. 

The paramedic took one look at her and then gently helped her sit down. “I need a stretcher over here!” He yelled over his shoulder. 

o0o

The conversation he'd had a few minutes earlier played in his head as Captain James Deakins rushed through the halls of the busy hospital. “What do you mean you can't give out information over the phone? They're my officers!” 

He slipped past several nurses and then ducked into the emergency ward. As usual the Emergency Room was crazier then the main hospital wing; nurses and doctors ran every which way. All the beds were full; Deakins glanced around for Logan and Jami. 

He spotted Logan first. The Detective was lying on one of the beds, a white cast on one wrist. Logan noticed Deakins and tried to get up. “Captain.” 

“Don't get up.” Deakins told him holding up a hand. “What happened, Logan?”

Logan started to reply when he was interrupted by Jami from the next bed over. The curtain was closed, but her voice came through clearly. She was angry. 

“I'll tell you what happened. Someone tried to kill us; that's what happened.” 

The curtain was pulled back and a doctor walked out of the cubicle, revealing Jami sitting on the bed, doing up the last buttons on her shirt. A butterfly bandage was taped over the cut on her forehead and Deakins caught the glimpse of tensor bandages under her shirt. 

“It was a black sedan.” Logan said to Deakins, drawing his attention back to the other detective. “The same kind that Tracy Hagan said was following her.” 

“Plate?” Deakins asked. 

“Didn't get one.” Logan replied. 

“From the car that ran us off the road.” Jami clarified. She reached for her jacket resting next to her gingerly, careful not to disturb her ribs and pulled a paper from the pocket. She handed it to Deakins. “This is the plate of another sedan that cut us off just before the accident. I don't think it was a coincidence.” 

Deakins took the paper silently. 

“Was anyone else hurt?” Jami asked. 

“A couple scrapes and bruises.” Deakins replied. “You two were the worst. Once you get out of here Internal Affairs is going to want to talk to you. Three lanes of traffic were backed up and there are a lot of petty damages to the other vehicles, plus some charges that are going to need to be cleared up. I expect you'll have to skip your next twelve years of vacation pay.” 

“Not like I taking any.” Logan muttered. 

“Want to tell me your version?” Deakins asked, ignoring the commentary. 

“A car slipped in front of us and we almost collided.” Logan reported. “I told Jami to write down the plate number. Then another black sedan rammed us from behind and we slide into the next lane. I think another car clipped up, then something hit us. I don't remember much after that.” Logan confessed. 

“Jami?” Deakins asked. 

“We flipped.” Jami continued the narrative. “A car hit us, I think it was one of those fancy foreign cars; BMW maybe, and we flipped. That's all I remember. Logan got the brunt of it.”

“At least my ribs weren't smashed up.” Logan retorted.

“Strained.” Jami shot back. “The doctor said strained. And I don't have any broken bones.” She glared at Logan. 

“Cool it.” Deakins ordered. “You both need some time to recover. I'll try and hold off IAD for a couple of days.” 

“Thanks.” Jami said before she slide down from the bed, grabbing her jacket on the way down. 

“And where do you think you're going?” Deakins demanded turning on her. 

“Back to the office.” Jami said swaying slightly as another dizzy spell took hold of her. 

“No; you're not.” Deakins replied. His anger melting in an instant as he gently grabbed her arm. “You’re going anywhere until a doctor clears you. You too, Logan.” Deakins turned his gaze on the other detective.

“No argument here.” Logan said. His head still felt like jackhammers were pounding into his skull. The pain killers had helped some, but not enough. 

“I’m fine.” Jami mumbled. 

“I’ve heard that one before.” Deakins retorted. “Jami, you don't need to strain your ribs anymore then they've been already. Are you going to get back on that bed or am I going to have to handcuff you to it?.” 

“No, sir.” Jami grumbled and hopped back onto the hospital bed. Deakins left to find a doctor who could tell him more about their injuries. Jami turned to look at her partner. Logan had a silly grin on his face. 

“What?” Jami snapped, angry at being ordered to stay. Deakins may be a family friend, but that had been out of bounds. 

“An image of you; handcuffed to the bed.” Logan replied. 

“That better be the drugs talking,” Jami warned him with a stiff glare. “Sexual harassment has gotten better detectives then you kicked off the force.” 

o0o

Both Logan and Jami were required to stay overnight at the hospital under observation, but the next day both of them were back at work. 

Jami’s hands had small cuts all over them and in addition to the cut above her eye; she also sported a large bruise on her forehead. Her ribs were healing, but still pained her from time to time. 

Logan’s left wrist had been broken and he now sported a white cast. He also had a large, but unseen goose-egg on the side of his head where he had hit the window. 

They sat in the conference room going through the case file from Tracy’s last case she worked. It wasn’t much, but they hoped to find something more about Greenvalley Financial.

Deakins watched them go over their paperwork again and wondered if he should send them home. They had told him what happened at Greenvalley Financial. It was too much of coincidence. 

In the end, Deakins decided that they needed to be back at work. The Chief wanted the Hagan case wrapped up and quick. It had already been open too long. Maybe he should start considering kicking it over to Goren and Eames..... 

Logan walked out of the room and headed toward his desk. Seeing an opportunity, Deakins stood. “Logan!” He called from his office doorway. He motioned the detective over. “Your partner too.” 

Logan motioned to Jami who joined him in Deakins's office. 

“I’m thinking about kicking this case over to another team.” Deakins told them once they were in his office. 

“Why?” Logan asked. 

“Chief of Ds wants this case wrapped up quick.” Deakins replied. “And after the accident you had, you deserve at least some time off.” 

“That is exactly why we have to be the ones to finish this.” Jami said. “Someone tried to kill us and I think I know who.” 

“The bank manager?” Deakins asked. “From what you told me, all you have is a gut feeling and you know that doesn’t always transfer over into an arrest.”

“Just let us have a few more days.” Logan said. “If we don’t have anything, then you can kick it.” 

“Three days.” Deakins said finally. “No more.” 

Jami and Logan nodded. 

Deakins phone rang and he picked it up. “Deakins.” He motioned to Jami and Logan to stay put. 

“When?” He asked. “Ok. I’ll tell them.”

“Someone just tried to break into Susan Elk’s home,” Deakins said as he hung up the phone. “And you have a witness.” 

o0o

“Tall, blonde ,and scary looking you say.” Logan said jotting down notes as he spoke with the one witness they had. “And you don’t remember anything else? His clothes? Height? Weight?” He asked, looking up. 

“Honey, do I look like a camera to you?” Mrs. Beverly, Susan Elk’s neighbour said, putting one hand on her hip. “I only remember his face and that he looked like one of those gangsters you see running around here.”

“Thanks.” Logan said. “This officer will take you down to the station. We’ll need you to meet with a sketch artist.” 

A uniformed officer escorted Mrs. Beverly towards a squad car. 

“Anything?” Jami asked as she came out of the house. 

“Only that he looked like he runs with a gang, which is about half the kids or adults in this state.” Logan replied. “You?”

“CSU is trying to get prints off of anything he might have touched. Susan is shaken up pretty bad though.” Jami said stepping aside to let two more officers into the house. “I’m having two officer’s stay with her until further notice.” 

“Is she ready to talk yet?” Logan asked. 

“I think so.” Jami said. “I'd take it easy though. She's been through a lot and isn't handling it well.”

Logan nodded and they made their way inside. Susan’s house was crawling with uniforms and CSU technicians. Susan herself was sitting on the couch with a steaming cup of tea that someone had brought her. 

“Susan?” Jami asked softly as she and Logan walked into the living room. 

Susan looked up. Her face was still pale, but she looked like she was past the worst of it. 

“I told you this would happen.” She said shakily. “First it was Tracy, and then you, and now me. They’re going to get us all!” 

“No one is going to get you.” Jami soothed. “We’re going to have some officer’s here until we catch him, ok?” 

Susan nodded. 

“Ok.” Logan said sitting down opposite her in a chair. Jami elected to stand. “Can you tell me what happened?” He asked. 

Susan took a deep breath and then spoke. “I was sitting at my desk working on the story. I turned around and saw a face in the window. I screamed and then he was gone. Then the officer was here.” 

“Did get a good look at his face?” Logan asked. 

Susan shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok.” Jami said. “One of your neighbours, Mrs. Beverly saw him running away. We’re going to get him.”

“You'll never get him.” Susan shot back, her voice shaking. “These people know how to hide themselves. They're find a way to keep him away from you and keep you from finishing your investigation. We're all in deep trouble.” 

“Listen to me.” Jami said her commanding voice making Susan look at her. “We are going to protect you. We have officer's here and they will be here until we have the people who murdered Tracy in jail.” 

“I'm not testifying.” Susan told them. She crossed her arms. “And you can't make me. If I drop the story, they won't need to come after me.” 

“Susan, I know you've been through a tough time.” Logan said joining the conversation. “Don't make any big decisions quite yet.”

“I've made up my mind.” Susan said glaring defiantly at Logan and then at Jami. “They have no reason to come after me if I don't testify.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Thomas Barry.” Jami said slapping a sketch down on Logan’s desk. He and Deakins had been going over what they had so far. Both of them looked up at Jami. 

“He's our peeping tom.” Jami told them excitedly. “Several priors for breaking and entering, two for trespassing, and he does have a couple parking tickets like any good New Yorker” She said sitting on the edge of Logan’s desk. “Wanna guess what he does for a living?”

Logan leaned back in his chair. “I take it he's not in a gang.” 

“He works at Greenvalley Financial as a security consultant.” Jami continued. “He's an enforcer.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow. 

“How's that for coincidence?” She asked. 

“Nice work.” Deakins said taking the paper from Logan and glancing it over. 

“There's more.” Jami said. “We finished checking the DMV records and found that the sedan that cut us off before the accident belongs to Greenvalley Financial. It's one of the company cars.”

“Which doesn't prove anything.” Deakins reminded her. “There's nothing criminal about cutting someone off or being near an accident scene. Their lawyers will eat this for dessert.” 

“Barry's our best bet.” Logan agreed. “Maybe he'll want to talk once he hears the bad news about going back to jail. ” 

“Go pick him up.” Deakins ordered. 

o0o 

“Hey. Check out the sedan.” Logan said to Jami as they walked up the driveway of Barry’s house. It was black and looked familiar. 

“Looks like the one that ran us off the road.” Jami agreed as they climbed the steps to the small house. She glanced back at the car, placing one hand on her firearm. 

“Thomas Barry!” Logan yelled as he pounded on the front door. “Police!” 

There was no answer and Logan banged on the door again. “Police! Open the door, Mr. Barry!” 

No answer again and Logan started to draw his gun. “We’re going in.” He said to the officers behind them. He moved aside to let the battering ram through. 

The officer broke down the door and then three more uniformed officers went into the house, followed by Jami and Logan, guns drawn. 

Cries of clear filled the house as the officers went from room to room. “The house is clear.” One of them announced and they holstered their sidearms. 

“Detectives!” One of them called from the back bedroom. “You’ll want to see this.” 

Logan and Jami walked into the bedroom. Thomas Barry was lying on the floor; face down, a bullet hole in the back of his skull. 

“No wonder he couldn’t answer the door.” Logan quipped as they looked at the body of their prime suspect.

o0o

“He was shot twice in the back of the head, execution style.” Rodgers said once they had gotten the body back to the Morgue. 

“Someone didn’t want him talking.” Logan commented as he looked over the body. 

“CSU confirmed that it was his sedan that ran us off the road. The paint matched as well as the tire skids at the scene.” Jami said reading from the file they had picked on their way over. 

“Anything come back in the Tox screen?” Logan asked. 

“Nothing out of the ordinary.” Rodgers said. “He was as healthy as a horse, until someone stuck a lead bullet into his brain.”

“Thanks Doc.” Jami said. 

Rodgers nodded and moved away. 

“We should go through the rest of the employees at the bank.” Logan said. “They might have priors and we should probably get Barry's phone records, see who he was talking to before he died.” 

Jami rubbed at the back of her neck. It was already past dinner time. By the time, they had gotten CSU out to the house, gone through Barry’s apartment and visited the Morgue; she could feel another headache coming on. 

“Let’s grab dinner first.” Jami said. “I’m starved.” 

“You know what?” Logan said. “Let’s call it a night. We can get a fresh started in the morning.” 

“You sure?” Jami asked. 

“Yeah. I'll drive you. We both could use some rest.” Logan said with a rueful smile. 

“True.” Jami agreed. “But I'm good with driving; thanks for the offer though.” 

o0o 

Jami drove to her apartment complex and getting out, slammed her car door. The small parking lot wasn't exactly secure and she had long since traded in her bike for something a little larger. The night air was cool and there was a slight breeze blowing. It helped her headache slightly. 

Jami pulled her jacket and bag from the backseat and walked towards the building. She checked the time on her phone before flipping through her keys. She dropped them on the doorstep. Cursing herself under her breath, Jami bent down and picked them up. 

Someone came up behind her and Jami turned but was stopped when a strong hand closed over her mouth. Dropping her bags, Jami grabbed for the hand that was holding her and jabbed her elbow backwards in her attacker's gut. He stepped back, she spun out of his hold and threw a kick into his groin. 

The martial arts move tugged at her ribs and she winced, fighting stance dropping. The man chopped at her with his hand, smacking her across the face. She spun with the impact, dropping to her knees with the force of the impact. 

She spun as her attacker came after her again, landing on her butt and kicked him in the knee at the same time with her left hand, she lashed out and caught the man in the nose with the hand that held her smartphone. She felt cartilage snap and knew she had broken his nose; blood poured. 

She scooted back with one hand, the other pressing the emergency dial on her phone. She yanked her gun out of the holster as the man stumbled in her direction. She cocked it and then watched as the man turned tail and ran away, limping down the parking lot. 

Jami could only watch, taking in deep breathes of the cool night air as the operator answered the emergency line. Her voice shook when she finally did speak. “Police. I need the police.” 

o0o

Quickly, the two squad cars that had been called out turned into four when the officer's learned that it was one of their own that had been the victim. The lights, people, and sounds were almost overwhelming. Jami was in the middle of attention; but everything stopped when she heard Logan call her name. 

He was walking quickly towards her, tie askew, hands held out at his sides in a questioning gesture. “What the hell happened?” He asked. He looked her over. “Who's blood is this?” He reached out to touch her, but stopped when Jami shook her head. 

“Not mine.” She assured him. “I was attacked.” She put her hand on the hood of the car to steady herself. “What are you doing here?” 

“On my way home.” He answered shortly. He looked at her closely. The addition to the purple bruise forming on her lower lip, she was also holding her ribs again and looked unsteady on her feet. “You ok?” 

“I pulled my ribs.” She replied. This time he did touch her, grabbing her elbow in a steadying grip. 

“Let's get you checked out.” He said. He waved the uniformed officer back over. 

o0o

“And you have no idea who he was?” Deakins asked. “Or what he wanted?” 

It was the next day at the office and Deakins had already heard about the previous night. Jami should have known better then the try and hide something from him. He was a police captain after all. He had called her into his office as soon as she had come in that morning. 

“No idea.” Jami said. “I slept in a hotel last night. I didn’t want to take a chance that he might come back.” 

“Good thinking.” Deakins said. He paused. “I wish you would have called me.” Now he sounded more like the adopted uncle then a police captain. 

“I'm fine.” Jami replied. “My paranoid brain is telling me it's connected to what Logan and I discovered, but the local boys think it was a mugging attempt.” 

They both looked up as Logan stormed into the room, closing the door behind him sharply. He threw a file onto the table. “This is what I came home to last night.” He said angrily pointing to the pictures. 

Deakins grabbed the folder and raised an eyebrow. He handed it to Jami. Logan bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet as she looked at it. It was a crime scene photo of what she could only assume was Logan's apartment; it had been completely trashed. 

She looked up. “Who...?”

Logan shook his head. “Don't know; place was clean of prints.” He took back the folder. 

Deakins turned to look at Jami. “Just a mugging you say?”

“And the guys at the lab found priors on some of the guys at the bank.” Logan said looking from Jami to Deakins. He looked at Jami. “What happened to you last night wasn't a mugging. I think we're being targeted.” 

o0o

“Most of the prints are for petty theft or violence, but they found one that has ties to the Mafia.” Logan said, putting his picture up on one of the computer screens in the AV lab. All three of them had gone down to the lab located in the building to check on what the print devision had dug up.

“The Mafia?” Deakins asked. 

“That’s him!” Jami exclaimed pointing at the screen. “That’s the guy who attacked me last night!”

“Are you sure?” Deakins asked.

“Positive.” Jami replied still looking at the screen. “That’s the guy.” 

“Which means some of his boys did some breaking and entering with a side of trespassing last night.” Logan muttered. 

“I think you'll have to have a little talk with Mr. Marino.” Deakins said.

“I think we might have just found our motive.” Logan said. “Try this on for size. The bank is in the pocket of the Mafia and skims off it's customer’s to pay for whatever illegal activity our Italian friends are involved in this month. Tracy finds out about it and the Mafia kills her. We're getting too close and they try to kill us. It doesn't work. Then they hire someone to scare or maybe even kill Susan.”

“Effectively getting rid of all the witnesses.” Jami finished. 

“If that's the case, you'll have to tread very lightly on this one.” Deakins said. “The Mafia is dangerous.”

“Oh, god.” Jami said suddenly. “Collins. He's the only other officer on the original case.” 

“They've already killed one police officer and tried to kill two others. Do you think they'd really be that stupid?” Logan asked. 

“What if they didn't know Tracy was a cop?” Jami asked. “She was using her reporter status to gather evidence because the cops couldn't do it. The owners of the bank could've killed her thinking what's one more reporter and then freaked when they found out she was a cop. Suicide doesn't exactly have Mafia written all over it.” 

“I'll call the officer on duty.” Deakins said. “Go.” 

Jami and Logan went out the door as Deakins grabbed for the phone. 

o0o  
Chapter Eight

With a screech, Jami stopped the car in front of Collins's apartment complex. Logan was in the passenger seat due to his busted arm. Jami was out of the car, barely stopping long enough to place the vehicle in park. 

“Jami!” Logan called as he worked to open the door. He swore and grabbed the handle with his bad wrist, wincing as he twisted it.

Jami ignored him and continued to the front door. Logan shoved the door with his foot, grabbed the keys from the ignition and ran after her. He caught the door as Jami threw it open and slipped in behind her. 

“Stairs.” Jami said, drawing her gun as she headed towards the door. 

Logan tightened his lips. Their backup wouldn't be here for another few minutes. But he couldn't let Jami go in alone. He drew his own weapon and followed Jami up the stairwell. 

Collins's apartment was on the second floor, it took them only a few minutes to reach the floor. Jami slammed into the crash bar and threw open the door, almost colliding with a uniformed officer; the officer that was supposed to be guarding Collins. 

“Hey!” The uniform protested and then reached for his sidearm at the sigh of their weapons. He was a young guy and looked like he had been on duty for all of four days. 

“Detective Carter.” Jami said quickly flashing her badge at the uniform. “Major Case. Collins?” 

“Just missed him.” The uniform replied. 

“What do you mean 'just missed him?'” Logan asked in annoyance. “You're supposed to be watching him!” 

“He said I could go and then left the apartment, said something about a beer.” The uniform replied. 

Jami swore. 

“Did I do something wrong?” The officer asked. 

“Not yet.” Logan growled. 

“Did he take his car?” Jami asked holstering her weapon. 

The officer looked confused. “I don't know. Maybe?” 

Jami glared at him. 

“No.” The officer amended. “No, he didn't.” 

“Thanks.” Jami said sarcastically before turning and going down the stairs. Logan followed and caught up with her as they reached street level. 

“Whoa! Slow down, Jami.” He said grabbing her gently by the arm. 

Jami pulled out of his grasp. “There's people out there that are trying to kill Collins and that idiot let's him go walkabout! There's about half a dozen pubs and bars in this area alone. He could be in any one. We have to check...” 

“But there's only one that off duty cops go too.” Logan interrupted her. “It's a couple blocks over. Come on.” 

o0o

“Whoa. Slow down. That's him.” Logan told Jami. They were almost at the bar when Logan had spotted Collins on the sidewalk. 

“Pull over.” Logan told Jami. Jami did and they both got out. Jami walked in front of the younger officer and stopped him. 

“Are you trying to be an idiot?” She asked. “If you are then congratulations, you've succeeded. What the hell were you thinking, Collins?” 

Collins tried to get around her and Jami placed a hand on his chest for a brief moment. Collins looked at Logan as if for support. Logan crossed his arms. The kid would get no support from him. 

“I was thinking I want a drink.” Collins replied angrily straightening his t-shirt. “Sheesh, as if having a guard outside my door wasn't enough now I have you two hounding me every single time I step out of line?” 

“In case you haven't noticed someone killed your partner.” Logan said. “Now if you want to have the same thing happen to you, then be my guest; walkabout as much as you like.” 

“That was a low, detective.” Collins said in a quiet tone of voice. Anger seethed in his words. 

“You're being selfish.” Logan continued. “You don't think your fiancee will mind when the Mafia starts lobbing bullets at you while you two are having a drink, huh? Do you?” 

“The Mafia?” Collins asked in confusion. “Since when did the Mafia get involved?”

“Since we found out that a known Mafia member works at Greenvalley Financial.” Jami replied. “We're going to put you in protective custody.” 

Collins nodded. He looked like he was having a hard time believing it. “I have to call Amy.” He said. “My fiancee, she's waiting at the bar.” 

“We'll go and pick her up.” Logan said. They walked Collins over to the car and he got into the back seat. 

Jami opened the driver's door as Logan walked around the front of the car. “Nice catch with the ring.” She said. “I missed it.” 

“Thanks.” Logan said modestly opening his door. 

Something made Jami look up. A dark, SUV slowly drove by; the passenger side widow was open and a rough looking man glanced at their car. Jami caught a reflection of the sun off an automatic weapon held in the man's lap. 

The detective's had barely avoided having another murder on their hands. 

o0o

Once they had settled Collins and Amy Sterling, the fiancee, Logan and Jami prepared to arrest Marino for assault on an officer as well as being associated with the Mafia. 

“We should be able to catch him at work.” Logan said as they went to their desks to grab their jackets. 

“This should be fun.” Jami said sarcastically. She was going along to make the ID on Marino but wasn't allowed to participate in the arrest; Deakins would have it no other way. She nodded to the third and fourth members of their party; also detectives. 

The four of them passed by a two men in suits on their way out of the squad room. The two men headed toward the Captain Deakins's office. 

Deakins looked up as the two men walked into his office without knocking. He put his pen down and stood as one of them shut the door behind him. If they were here, this could not be good. 

He could feel another headache coming on.

o0o

An hour later in another part of the building, Logan, Jami and a third detective walked Marino into interrogation and Logan shut the door behind them.

The other detective sat Marino down on a chair and then retreated to the corner of the room. 

“What happened to your nose?” Logan asked, taking the seat across from him. “It looks like someone took a swing at you.” 

“Don’t sit there and pretend you don’t know.” Marino shot back. “You know what happened.”

“That’s what happens when you take a swing a police officer.” Jami replied from beside Logan. “More often then not, they’ll swing back.” 

“Oh, so that’s what you told them? That I tried to take a swing at you?” Marino asked in surprise. He looked up at Logan and laughed as he leaned back in his chair. “She’s got you wrapped up tight, bro. I want my lawyer.”

“You'll get your lawyer.” Logan replied. “But first you need to answer some questions.” 

“I'm not saying anything without my lawyer.” Marino said stubbornly. “Anything you can say, you can say to him when he arrives.” 

Jami slammed her hand on the metal table, making Marino look up at her in surprise. “Look here. A police officer has been murdered; know anything about that?” 

“Yeah; read about it in papers.” Marino said leaning forward. “What's one more dead cop I say.” 

“You know that she was investigating the company you work at?” Logan asked. 

“Nah.” Marino replied. “I would have known about that. You see I'm in charge of all the comings and goings at the bank. Nothing happens that I don't know about.” 

“And the manager hired you with your criminal record?” Jami asked incredulously. 

“I guess so.” Marino said. “'Else, we wouldn't be having this little conversation.” 

The door opened and a man in a grey suit came in. Everything about him screamed lawyer. “I would like a word with my client, alone.” He said.

Marino smiled as he leaned back in his chair. He waved. “See ya later, cops.” 

o0o

Deakins was waiting for them in the observation room. His face was grim as he turned away from the window were Marino was conversing with his lawyer. Jami frowned at the look; it said bad news. 

“What’s up?” She asked as Logan shut the door behind them. 

“I just got a visit from IAD.” Deakins said. 

“Great.” Logan said sarcastically. “When's the interview?” 

“They've postponed it.” Deakins replied. He turned to Jami. “They want to talk to you, Jami.” 

“Me?” Jami asked in surprise. “What did I do?” 

“They got a visit from Marino’s lawyer this morning. Apparently, you attacked him on the street when he wouldn’t confess to the murder of Tracy Hagan.” Deakins replied. “Apparently, you beat him up pretty badly. He could only defend himself.” 

“What?” Jami asked in shock.

“That’s complete crap.” Logan exclaimed. 

“He attacked me.” Jami replied indignantly. She pointed towards the glass. “You saw the way he behaved in there.” 

“I know.” Deakins said trying to calm her down. “I know. There's nothing I can do. You have a meeting with IAD this afternoon.” He continued. “And then after that the Chief of Ds wants to speak with you, along with Marino’s lawyer. They want me to come along.” 

“What about him?” Logan asked motioning to Marino. 

“For now, you’re both off the case.” Deakins said looking through the glass at Marino. “IAD is going to re-evaluate all your evidence.”

“Which is just a fancy word for putting the investigation on hold.” Jami said angrily. “He's going to walk!”

“Not if I can help it.” Deakins said. “Believe me; we're going to fight this.” 

o0o

Jami wasn’t allowed any contact with Logan before or after her IAD meeting and after she finished meeting with the Chief of Ds, it was too late anyways; he had already gone home for the night. 

The prognosis was bad. Most of it was hear say. Jami couldn’t prove that it was Marino that had attacked her and, Marino didn’t have 'proper' witnesses that could testify that it was Jami. 

So, to make everyone involved happy, Jami was being taken off Major Case and being reassigned back to OCID. It was the best decision for all of them, but Deakins wasn’t happy about it. He had tried to fight it, but in the end it was finale; Jami was going back to OCID.

Jami hated walking into the office the next morning. She had to clean her desk out, but it was hard to know that she was never coming back to Major Case. She didn’t want to be stuck undercover for the rest of her career. Working with Logan had given her the chance to brush up on her skills as an investigator; the inner workings of preparing a case. 

Throwing the box onto her desk, Jami started to chuck things into it. She didn't have much; enough to fill half a box. She felt more then heard Logan come up behind her. She didn't want to turn around. 

“You’re leaving?” Logan asked finally, noticing what she was doing. 

“Yup.” Jami replied continuing to throw files into the box. “They're kicking me back to OCID. Some crap about my talents being needed elsewhere.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. Marino won?” Logan asked incredulously

“Nope. Didn’t have any proper witnesses.” Jami said. “I didn't have any witnesses either so the case was dropped.”

“That’s assault on an officer!” Logan burst out. “He should have at least been arrested.” 

Jami didn’t answer as she continued shoving things into her box.

Logan lowered his voice. “Jami, you didn’t drop the case; did you?” 

Jami put the lid on her box, but still didn’t answer him or turn around. 

With a sudden burst on anger, Logan slammed his hand down on the desk. This time Jami did turn around and looked at him. Her face told him everything; she had dropped the case. 

The entire room turned and looked their way. Noticing the stares, Jami grabbed Logan by the arm and pulled him into an empty conference room. 

She shut the door behind them and then turned on Logan. “Look, I can either push for this and get laughed out of the DA’s office, or let it go, keep my badge and nail Marino on another charge. If it were you, which would you choose?”

Logan didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to say anything. 

“That’s what I thought.” Jami said. They had both calmed down by now, resigned to what was happening. 

“So the bad guys win again, huh?” Logan said after a moment. 

“Something like that.” Jami replied. There was a moment of awkward silence as they both looked at each other. They had been through a lot in the last couple weeks. 

“It was nice working with you, Mike.” Jami said finally. “Take care of yourself and try to stay out of trouble.” 

She reached up and gave him a quick hug. Logan awkwardly returned it, his cast getting in the way. She stepped back and then straightened his tie before giving him a smile. She turned and walked out of the conference room. 

Logan watched her go, annoyed with the brass. Jami was a good cop and didn’t deserve to be stuck undercover for the rest of her career.

Jami grabbed her box from her desk and with one last look at Logan, walked to the elevator. Logan watched her as she stepped into the elevator. It was probably the last time he would ever see her; Major Case and OCID ran in different circles. 

With one last grin, Jami winked at him as the elevator doors closed; showing her defiant streak. Logan smiled at her cheekiness. They'd had a good run together and he hoped his next partner would be as fun. 

The next few weeks went by slowly. Deakins was trying to find another partner for Logan, but until then, he was stuck on desk duty. At least his arm had been freed from it's plaster prison. 

Bored out of his mind, Logan stopped the chat with Goren and Eames. 

“Logan! I want you to meet someone.” Deakins called from where he stood by his office.

Logan glanced at Eames and Goren and then walking over to the Captain’s office, stepped inside to meet his new partner.   
-fini-


End file.
